In recent years, several personal sound systems have been marketed for use by people engaging in various outdoor activities such as jogging, hiking, skiing, bicycling, and the like. A well-known system includes a radio or tape recorder adapted to be fastened to a person's belt, and a set of earphones connected by wires to the radio or tape player. While such a system has the advantage of providing high quality stereophonic sound for the user, it has the disadvantage of blocking out ambient sounds. As a result, some people, such as joggers using such systems have been involved in accidents because of their inability to hear the sound of approaching vehicles. Hence, such systems are not entirely satisfactory from a safety standpoint.
Other systems are available which overcome some of the aforementioned safety problems by eliminating the earphones; however, they tend to be cumbersome and less than entirely comfortable to wear. An example of a personal sound system which does not utilize earphones is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,139.
Another such sound system is built into a scarf adapted to be worn about a person's neck. Still another sound system includes speakers adapted to clip onto a person's garments. Miscellaneous other portable communication systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,285,083 and 3,114,105. While any of these systems may function satisfactorily for its intended purpose there is a demand for a portable stereophonic sound system which provides high quality sound and which is comfortable and safe to use in a wide variety of activities.